Game, Set, Match
by Linwe Elendil
Summary: The game was over. The future was set. Only one thing remained. Missing scene from the end of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.


Disclaimer: Of course, I don't actually own the rights to Robert Langdon's adventures. Wish I did!

This is just a scene that I thought belonged at the end of the book. The portion in bold is text from the novel (I borrowed it). ;-)

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**Beside him, Katherine shivered and inched closer. Langdon put his arm around her.**

**In that moment, standing atop the Capital, with the warmth of the sun streaming down all around him, Robert Langdon felt a powerful upwelling deep within himself. It was an emotion he had never felt this profoundly in his entire life.**

_**Hope.**_

His introspection was broken by a most pleasant sound. Katherine's voice. It prompted him to focus on her, and he tore his gaze away from the majestic sunrise.

"Isn't it breathtaking?" Katherine asked.

"Yes, it is," Langdon answered, watching as the rays of the sun bathed her face. The warm glow of her olive skin was slightly muted from the blood loss she'd suffered earlier, and the same frustrating lock of hair had slipped over her cheek. But still, she was radiant. Without thinking, Langdon brushed her hair preemptively behind her ear.

Katherine turned her head to look at him without pulling away. Her cheeks flushed as she met his unabashed stare, but her composure remained intact. "Professor," she said demurely, "were you talking about the sunrise… or me?"

Langdon didn't move. He was convinced he wouldn't have been able to, even had he desired it. "What if – for the sake of supposition – I _did_ mean you?"

"Then I would be obliged to say that you're walking the precipice of cliché."

Langdon glanced at the ground far below. "Now may not be the best time to use the word 'precipice'," he said, his arm holding her tighter.

Katherine smiled.

"Cliché or not," Langdon added, "it was worth saying."

"And why is that?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Because I got to see the great Katherine Solomon _blush_."

Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of crimson, but she swallowed her retort – apparently knowing she'd be a fool to deny the accusation. Sorrow flashed in her eyes for a moment, and Langdon could only imagine which of the evening's horrors she was recalling.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Langdon placed his finger hurriedly over her lips – silencing the words. Katherine looked determined, so Langdon removed his hand and quieted her grief the only other way he could think to.

He pressed his lips gently to hers.

The warmth of the sun's rays paled in comparison to the heat that rushed through him now. Langdon felt his mind break free of thought and reality as it had in the dark tank. But this time he was surrounded by light. He realized with a jolt that in a few short hours he had experienced both hell and heaven.

_If all men are gods, lovers are the creators,_ he thought languidly.

Waking from heaven was a more pleasant experience than being torn from the hellish womb. Katherine's arm was wrapped tightly around the small of his back, and his hands were tangled in her dark mane. As Langdon looked into the eyes of this beautiful, brave woman, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd met his match.

Katherine grasped his neck with her other hand and pulled gently, bringing him close enough to kiss his forehead before looking warmly in his eyes.

Langdon cleared his throat. "As much as I would love to continue this…" he began. She finished his thought.

"You'd like to be somewhere closer to the ground."

Langdon smiled. "And I'd like to get there without falling."

She tightened her hold on him. "It would be a shame to lose you now."

Running her hands along his back to his shoulders, she kissed him passionately. Langdon responded in kind, pressing her ever closer.

Katherine filled all of his senses. He felt like he was drowning in her, but he didn't care. Only when Langdon felt himself beginning to sway from lack of breath did he break the hold of her lips, gasping.

Katherine seemed equally unsteady on her feet, and she chuckled. "I see what you mean," she said, "though there's a certain exhilaration to it, don't you think?"

He most certainly did not. But rather than admit his cowardice, Langdon simply gestured to the way back.

"Chicken," Katherine said with a smile as she took Langdon's hand – leading them both down to reality and the waiting world.

Langdon followed willingly behind.


End file.
